Cassie’s POVIt had been about ten days since I last visited this place, and safe to say, it seemed a hell lot different today than it had been on that day. I wasn’t sure if it was the energy in the room, the receptivity of the people or the fear on Calvin’s face that made me seem like I was walking into a different courtroom altogether. Yes, Calvin was scared. The last time I saw him like this was when I announced to everyone that I would be pulling the money from his company. That was the day he realized that he was no longer in power. There was nothing he feared more than that, and today, a similar situation seemed to be unfolding before me. When he saw me being dragged into the court, surrounded by the police, he sent me a look of anger. It seemed as though he was holding me responsible for putting him in this place once again, stealing away the time he wanted to celebrate his victory against me. By his side, Becky was trying to speak to him about something, trying to move his f
Cassie's POV “Replay the video.” Said the judge, failing to believe his own eyes. I couldn’t blame him, for what Enzo had produced as evidence in the courtroom was astounding. I was perplexed as to how he managed to get his hands on something like this. The video was recorded from the car, giving a view of the driver and the passenger. The driver seemed erratic and wobbly, sloppily driving on the empty road. After a few seconds, the driver suddenly turned the wheel to a side, ending up colliding the vehicle with the tree. Fumes erupted from the bonnet, and the airbags opened in the front seat. The driver was unconscious, their head on the airbags as blood dribbled down it. Right then, the passenger door opened and they got down. They came to stand in front of the car, revealing their faces. It was me.I approached the driver’s side to help Becky, but Becky wouldn’t budge. I then proceeded to pull her phone out of her pocket and call for help. I had no memory of this video. I wasn
I felt someone hug me from behind. When I turned around, I realized who. It was Kelly."Cassie!" She screamed in elation. "I can't believe this! You're finally free."I could hardly register what was happening around me as too much was unfolding at one go."You are going to be alright, Cassie! You're going to come home. Your life is going back to normal again!"I nodded, "It is, isn't it?" I asked, perplexed. "Everything is going to be alright now.""Yes, absolutely!" She said, grinning from ear to ear. "All thanks to this man here who never gave up on you."Following her eyes, I looked to my right where Enzo was standing. I detected a sense of relief on his face, as though a mountain of responsibility had been lifted off his shoulders. Dark circles had formed below his eyes, making me wonder how many sleepless nights he had endured to lead us to today's victory.Tears accumulated in my eyes i
When I walked toward Becky, Calvin was nowhere in sight, nor were his lawyers, giving me my much-needed alone time with her. My conversation with her was far overdue, I realized.She saw me approaching her and started glaring. Her face was full of anger."What do you want?" She asked as soon as I arrived near her."I wanted to check if you're doing well." I said, "After all, you might be going to prison very soon. And after living there for two weeks, thanks to you, I can assure you that they will take very good care of people like you. You better be prepared."Becky scoffed, "I am not going anywhere. I will be right here with Calvin, making sure you don't steal him from me yet again.""Yet again?" I laughed, "Calvin was never yours to begin with, Becky. He was my husband. You are the one that came in between and sabotaged the life we built. If anything, it was you that took him away from me.""Calvin loved me."
Calvin’s POV“What’s the matter?” Becky’s concerned voice came after me as I entered our bedroom. Without sparing her a glance or a nod of acknowledgement, I barged into the bathroom, banging the door shut behind me.I hated lies. I hated liars.Today, Becky was found to be one. I loved her so much, but she didn't tell me the truth. I found out about it in court. It was pathetic.As I stood under the showerhead, I couldn't help but wonder why she might have done that. Why did she have to lie about who was driving the car and why did she have to frame Cassie in a murder case? Why did she hate her so much? Did that mean that Penelope had lied too? But why would she?
Cassie’s POV I looked up at the tall building with a sigh.It was my first day.I noticed that there was a Starbucks located beneath the office. Since I had some time to spare, I went in to get a fresh cup of mocha. Instead of sitting inside, I decided to take a stroll in the small park area outside the building. Maybe it was because I’ve been away from work for so long, I felt a bit uneasy to enter the office building.When it was time, I finally mustered up the courage to go inside. Saving me a trip to the HR, Enzo slipped in my identity card this morning, which granted me hassle-free entry into the building. Even though I told him that everything would just follow the process and I was confident I could get through all the interviews, Enzo said we didn’t need all those complicated steps. I went along with his arrangement, after all, it was his good intention.I went straight up to my floor and navigated through the throng of people who were standing in the gaps between the cubicle
I stared at the computer screen in horror. It was filled with red errors.I scrolled through my work in disbelief. This was the worst feedback I have ever received. I can’t be that bad.. Until.. I realized I was. What was this? I had never made these many mistakes before.Right then, my telephone buzzed beside my computer. When I took the call, I realized that it was Patrick calling me.“Meet me in my office.”Shit. “O-okay.”I quickly went to his office. I knocked on the door and pushed it open. When I entered, Patrick was looking into a file and didn’t bother to look up and acknowledge me. I clea
As I twisted the door knob open, I saw light flooding from inside. I frowned.Enzo was back already?“Hello?” I said as I closed the door behind me, getting rid of my heels.“In here.” Enzo’s voice chimed from the kitchen.“Wow, you’re cooking?” I asked. I was amused looking at him in his chef attire.“I am,” he said, “I hope you like pasta.”“I do.” I said, “But what’s the occasion ?”“We’re
“What happened to you was not your fault.” I whispered. “I could understand why you reacted like that.” He shook his head, “What happened to me wasn’t my fault, but how I reacted to it, that is completely on me. I was a bit callous. I gave up on myself. I gave up on us, and you didn’t deserve that.” He said, planting a kiss on my forehead. “You stood by me throughout the entire journey, like a rock. I tried to push you away as much as I could because I thought you deserved better than this. I almost wished you would leave me, so you could have a better life. I was convinced that I could not give you happiness anymore, and that you didn’t deserve to be with a man like that.” I sighed in dismay, “Enzo…”“But you didn’t give up on me. You didn’t give up on us. You believed in me, and you helped me fight. You urged me to fight, and it’s because of you that I got all of this back. I got myself back yet again.”“I didn’t do anything that you wouldn’t have done for me,” I said. “In fact, y
Frankly, I had no idea what to make of it. A part of me was elated to hear the news, but the bigger part of me would only be at rest when I saw the thought translate to reality.Enzo spent the next few minutes telling me how his day went, how he handed Trent Dalton a taste of his own medicine. While it was Enzo that gained control of the situation toward the end, I was not entirely sure this was over. From his past actions, it was safe to assume that Dalton always hid an ace up his sleeve.“You seem oddly calm about all of this,” he said out of nowhere, surprising me. He then turned his head to face me.“What do you mean?”“After how the past few days have played out for us, I expected you to be a little more relieved than you are right now.”I smiled. “You want me to react like Liza?”“Surprisingly, yes.”I couldn’t help but sigh. “I am relieved, Enzo. This was far overdue. All I want now is some stability in our life. I can’t wait for things to go back to normal.” He watched me, wa
I felt a flicker of hope ignite in my chest yet. So the plan worked? Trent caved in?“So… the tape is gone?” Liza asked in a low tone. “Yes, the tape is gone,” he confirmed.I could almost hear the breath leave her lungs in a rush of relief. “Oh my God, are you serious? Like, it’s gone for real?”“I don’t know, Liza. I made him delete it in front of me—from his device and from the cloud. So, yeah, I assume the tape is gone for real.”“Oh my God, Enzo, thank you so much!” she cried, nearly launching herself at him.“No, none of that,” he said, leaning away. “Honestly, I’m exhausted. It would really help if you’d give me some peace of mind.”“I see you’re still the ungrateful bastard I always thought you were,” she muttered. “I gave you all the confidential information you needed, and this is the thanks I get?”“Let’s not forget that I was the one who deleted the tape for you, so yeah, gratitude goes both ways.”I couldn’t help but be amused at their banter. To think I had once felt th
I waited anxiously for Enzo to come back home.He had left at noon to meet Trent Dalton, and since then, there had been no sign of him—not even a text or a call. I knew better than to disturb him, so I refrained from bugging him. I understood that when he had the time and when the work was done, he would tell me himself.However, it wasn’t easy waiting at home. It wasn’t just me; Sara and Liza were here too, both just as eager to hear some good news from Enzo. As for Liza, she had arrived shortly after Enzo left, curious to know what we planned on doing with the information she had given us.“We’re not going to sue you if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said to her.“Well, yeah, please don’t, because I’m not in a position to handle a lawsuit,” she replied, her voice tinged with nervous laughter.I rolled my eyes. “Neither Enzo nor I are interested in that. All we want is to get back what we lost and bring down Trent Dalton.”“And the sex tape?” She asked, “Anything about that?”I coul
Trent leaned back in his seat, staring at me intently.I did not give him a choice. I gave him an ultimatum. I knew that ultimately, he had to succumb to my demands. So what was it that was running through his mind?“You see, Enzo,” he said, “The problem with you is that you think you’re better than everyone—”“I am.”“—And that everyone is beneath you.”“That’s true too.”He smiled. “You give us too little credit,” he said. “You see, you think you pulled a masterstroke by coming to me with these video footages that honestly mean nothing to me. Because if you take this to the press, it’s going to say a lot more about you than about me. Because I’m just going to be the promiscuous man who cheated on his wife and had his privacy violated, along with several other women. Whereas you?”He leaned closer, placing his elbows on its surface. He looked into my eyes in a challenging way, as though he was trying to get into my head.“You are going to be that man that lost his fortune because of
Only psychopaths drink black coffee. That’s what Cassie always said whenever I ordered an Americano at starbucks. As I stared at the man in front of me, I couldn’t help but agree with her. Trent Dalton arrived fashionably late this morning. I picked a casual cafe for us to meet in, knowing it was our best bet. I even picked out an area where nobody would know us. We didn’t want to be spotted by anybody, especially the press. Draped in his stupid suit, he seemed like the devil himself, sipping on his black coffee. “You look good, DeLuca.” he said with a smirk, placing his cup down. “Surprisingly good, for someone whose ass got whipped by the corporate world.”Ever since the moment he arrived, it was clear that there was a power struggle between the both of us. He was on a high horse, claiming himself to be superior to me. But I knew that he would be tumbling down very fast. “I know.” I smiled. “Most people would’ve given up after they get framed by a coward.” “But you’re not mos
Enzo’s POVIt felt like the first time in ages that I was stepping onto one of these streets. The place was bustling with energy, filled with people heading toward their workplaces. I was no different.As I spotted Killian‘s office building, I made my way inside. A few clients noticed me — some smiled, some nodded. They recognized me, but thankfully, none of them approached. I headed to the reception and checked my appointment. The receptionist was more than happy to assist me upstairs.Killian was seated in his office on the 22nd floor. I took the elevator up and walked straight toward his room.As soon as I knocked, I heard his voice call out, “Come in.”I pushed the door open slightly, revealing my face through the gap. Killian’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.“Oh,” he said, “please, come in.”I shut the door behind me and walked over to his table, taking a seat.“Good to meet you again, Killian,” I said, shaking his hand. “And thank you so much for doing this.”“Oh, don’t mention i
I was taken aback by her sudden outburst that it took me a while to realize that we were grabbing an audience. She seemed to have noticed that too, as she took a deep breath to compose herself. I pushed a glass of water toward her and she took it. After taking a fee sips, she put it away. Then she said in a low tone,“I had no choice. I could not come to him for help. This was something I had to deal with on my own.”My voice was gentle this time. “Well, you’re confusing me. I have no idea what you’re talking about. So you better tell me what it was that compelled you to do this.”“Will you promise to keep this to yourself?” she said.“Liza, I’m going to tell this to Enzo—because he deserves to know the truth. But if you’re saying you were in trouble and you needed help, then be assured that we’re going to help you.”“Okay,” she said, releasing a shaky breath. I could tell that it was crushing her to share this with me. It showed in the way her hands were trembling. “Liza, are you
I waited in the café outside my office, glancing at my watch. It was 30 minutes past our scheduled time, but I was not surprised—Liza was known for her tardiness. She never showed up on time, even for work.I sent a message to Enzo then, asking him how it was going at work, but he still hadn’t replied. Bored, I decided to call Sarah so I could speak to Emmy. But right then, I heard a ring in the air. My face instantly turned toward the entrance and, unsurprisingly, in walked my sister. Her eyes wandered through the crowd until they settled on me at the far end of the room. Her face gave away nothing. I could tell she was slightly nervous, but she tried to play it well. After all, I hadn’t told her why she was here. I wanted to catch her off guard—not come prepared with an answer that would keep us from the truth.I needed her to be honest with me. This was no longer about her silly games. This was about my husband—and his career, which was on the line.She sat across from me, throwi